Thursday, 29 June 2017

It will be
painful – a prospect emphasised by the recent release of the SNC-Lavalin May
17, 2013 Risk Assessment Report following on the revelations of the “Anonymous
Engineer” on pre-sanction “book cooking”as first revealed on Uncle Gnarley.

Stand by for
more and escalating leaks.

But the
surest sign of the coming storm is the return to public airways of one Ed
Martin, former Nalcor CEO.

Like a character
in poorly made sequel of a powerful horror movie, Mr. Martin continued on CBC
TV to spout the same sort of World Class nonsense that has helped put us in our
present terrible Muskrat bind.

Monday, 26 June 2017

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a Guest Post written by the whistleblower, referred to as the "Anonymous Engineer", who originally disclosed falsification of the estimates for the Muskrat Falls project on January 30, 2017 —in a post entitled Muskrat Cost Estimates "A Complete Falsification", says Engineer, in a second post on February 6, 2017 called Muskrat: Allegations of Phony Cost Estimates, and to the CBC in early May. This piece is his direct appeal to the Premier and Minister Coady for a Forensic Audit of the Muskrat Falls project. — Des Sullivan

Premier’s and Minister Coady’s
statementsare false – June 23rd,
2017The
statements made by the Premier Dwight Ball and Minister Coady at the televised
press conference on June 23rd, 2017 are false. The Premier stated
that performing a Forensic Audit, now, will delay the project. He made an array
of other false claims, evidently with an intent specifically to delay a
Forensic Audit as long as possible. There is not a grain of truth in these
claims.

Saturday, 24 June 2017

It was a
somewhat older, less feisty, more comfortably confident Brian Peckford who
ascended the stage as guest speaker at the closing of NOIA’S 40thconference. But time had not altered his powers of communication or any of his
enormous capacity to be singular with his audience, to entertain them and,
concomitantly, to leave them feeling slightly less comfortable than when they
first sat down.

As an ‘old’
staffer of Premier Peckford, in the 1970s and 80s (full disclosure), I had
watched the performance many times, often jealously — the rapport quickly
established, the bond of trust unmistakable, all given an articulation that
found clarity only because it was as physical and emotional as it was verbal. Like
him or hate him — many did both, and some at the same time — he was a master
storyteller.

Thursday, 22 June 2017

When the
Minister of Natural Resources, Siobhan Coady, released the report of the
Muskrat Falls Oversight Committee last Friday — the first in fifteen months — she
tried to leave the media, and the public, with the impression that a new impetus
was at work in matters of oversight.

The Minister was not being honest.

Given the
evidence that, both prior to sanction and afterwards, the MF project estimates
were falsified, it is reasonable to think that the Minister would not want to
be mired in the deceitful culture that has grown up around Nalcor and her
Department. But the Minister demonstrates no such caution.

It is one
thing to say, as she has, that the government has questions about the project estimates,
as did the whistleblower engineer. But a verbal expression of concern, alone, is
not enough.

One might
expect that Coady would not only want to know the origins of the alleged
deceitfulness, and who is responsible, but that she might set new standards of
disclosure for her officials to follow.

Monday, 19 June 2017

The latest
poll from CRA does little more than reaffirm prior perceptions held by the public about the Premier and the Ball Administration.

The polling
group found that 34% of decided voters supported the Liberals, 40% backed the
PCs, while 24% stood behind the NDP.

Two other
statistics offer confirmation that the Liberals are in deep trouble: satisfaction
with the government stands at only 28%, while in leader preference Dwight Ball
receives 23% support against 36% for PC leader Paul Davis and 16% for Earle McCurdy of the NDP.

The results essentially
mirror those reported when Ball’s popularity dropped off a cliff last year.

Thursday, 15 June 2017

Guest Post by Kelly PopulousImagine a
law so badly misunderstood that politicians and parties tolerate an unwanted,
unpopular premier in order to avoid an election. A government without the
political capital to change important public policy becomes trapped with
unwanted leadership and winds up paralyzed. The public grows more
apathetic or, worse, angry... and the whole province suffers as a result.

The scenario would seem crazy if Newfoundland and Labrador hadn't already suffered
through it under Kathy Dunderdale. Now, with Dwight Ball flailing
badly as the province’s First Minister, it seems that we have lost the ability
to determine a course to provide renewal of the province's political
leadership.

Monday, 12 June 2017

Waiting For Godot is a celebrated play by Samuel
Beckett in which two characters, Valdimir and Estragon, are waiting for a
person — Godot — who never arrives. The Ball Administration serves as parody
for the tragicomedy. Like the government, as one writer says of Waiting For Godot, “the sheer emptiness
and randomness of the plot causes the audience (or reader) to wonder if
anything is going to happen”.

Ball and
Coady especially resemble Valdimir and Estragon— though possibly the tramps,
Didi and Gogo, too because, like them, they seem to have no part to play.

Our play
departs from Beckett’s a little, but only because Coady can expect an appearance
from the AuditorGeneral, just not with the package she pretends he is
carrying.

The Minister
knows he will offer no guidance on the “falsification” issue over which
Nalcor’s whistleblower has sounded the alarm. Her performance is simply the
pretense that he will.

Thursday, 8 June 2017

"Falsification
of information on a massive scale.” That’s what the Anonymous Engineer told the
Uncle Gnarley Blog in January, 2017 about the estimates for the Muskrat Falls
project.

The public
now awaits follow through by the Premier and the Minister of Natural Resources
on his call for a forensic audit. The audit would detail the origins and extent
of the “low-balled” estimates and confirm whose signature(s) authorized their
use.

In a
conversation with him recently, the engineer reflected upon his disclosure and the
response of the Government. Said he:

“Even though Minister Siobhan Coady
has already indicated she accepts what I have said as part of the narrative and
that she has questions, too, the Minister must know my warning was completely supported
by the EY Interim Report, which the Government commissioned.”

Monday, 5 June 2017

If any
member of the public as much as frowned last Monday when the Ball Government and Husky
Energy announced agreement on the White Rose Extension project, they might
have risked exile to the Funks — or worse.Politicians, industry officials, hangers-on, the compradors (fixers and
agents) and, of course, the media were all found ‘cheek to jowl’.

Ditched,
along with the champagne corks, was even the tiniest bit of perspective on the
flawed deal — even if, admittedly, it was an important one.

There is no
question that the failure of OPEC to keep prices as high as Ed Martin had
decreed, the end of the Vale and Hebron projects, and the consequent downturn
in the housing sector, have everyone longing for the good “old” days. But
economic challenges are not a time for governments to lose their minds, or
embrace a future with a duration running only until the next election.

Siobhan
Coady seemed within a nudge of shouting “we got it”, her restraint tethered
only by the star of Galway who long ago appropriated the phrase with dubious
claim.

The truth is
the Premier and the Minister had only Husky’s ‘win’ to announce.

About Des Sullivan

Uncle Gnarley is written by Des Sullivan, of St. John's.
He is a businessman engaged in real estate, retail and development companies.
A Director of Sullivan Capital Corporation, he is a former Executive Assistant to Premier's Frank D. Moores (1975-1979)and Brian Peckford (1979-1985).
He also served as a Part-Time Board Member on the Canada-Newfoundland Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB).
Uncle Gnarley permitted the use of his highly regarded name provided he could have full access to state his own rather unequivocable opinions. (A more detailed Profile of Uncle Gnarley is described in the very first Post entitled "Uncle Gnarley is alive and well" found on this site.
Sullivan is a firm advocate of sound fiscal management by the provincial government and intends to use this Site as a forum for commentary on the major issues of the day. Says Sullivan, "Newfoundland and Labrador inspires debate on a variety of issues, a veritable Muskrat Falls of opinion".
Readers are invited to leave their opinions, too.
Uncle Gnarley will post every Monday, and more often as events warrant.